Francesco Marini
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lightskies.net
Francesco Marini
@lightskies.net
900 followers 580 following 120 posts
Sci-fi aficionado, 📷 by passion, I like snorkeling, long walks, cooking, good 📚, 🎞️, 😺🐈, and nice conversations on way too many topics.

iOS 🧑🏻‍💻, but been developing for a long time with probably too many languages and techs.

https://www.lightskies.net/
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Francesco Marini
davidho.bsky.social
Given all the insane things that the Trump regime has done, nothing should surprise us. But I’m still shocked and angry that they are going to dismantle NCAR.
Trump Administration Plans to Break Up NCAR - Eos
The Trump administration is planning to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research, one of the world’s leading climate and Earth science research laboratories, according to a statement fro...
eos.org
December 17, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Reposted by Francesco Marini
james-bg.bsky.social
The EU's new plan for the automotive industry seems to be 'you must sell a ton of EVs, but if some of you want to continue to mess around with a heritage technology that causes massive damage you can do that for another 20 years or so and see what happens'. www.businessgreen.com/news/4523371...
EU unveils plan to dilute ban on sale of petrol and diesel cars
New package would drop planned ban, requiring manufacturers to instead cut tailpipe emissions 90 per cent by 2035 while ramping up investment in clean technologies
www.businessgreen.com
December 17, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Reposted by Francesco Marini
ign.com
The Commodore 64 Ultimate lovingly recreates the best-selling personal computer of all time with smart modern tweaks and pixel-perfect 8-bit joy.

Our review: https://bit.ly/4aZHVgu
December 17, 2025 at 5:31 AM
Reposted by Francesco Marini
thomasfuchs.at
Lost acronym we should bring back: PEBKAC
December 16, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Reposted by Francesco Marini
commodoreblog.uk
The first Commodore 64 Ultimate video review?
#c64 #commodore @commodoreofficial.bsky.social
youtu.be/5PnWDSQZLtY?...
The Commodore 64 Ultimate Is Here – A Brand New C64 in 2025
YouTube video by Dan Wood
youtu.be
December 16, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Reposted by Francesco Marini
commodoreblog.uk
and the second..
youtu.be/_8bntwxnKX0?...
Commodore 64 Ultimate
YouTube video by Nostalgia Nerd
youtu.be
December 16, 2025 at 3:09 PM
lightskies.net
Not a bad way to spend 15 mins checking Mastodon and Bluesky while outside is raining (had to come near Chinatown, and suddenly felt the need for a boba 😁).
Mango, pomelo, sago, and taro. Not bad at all.

(Not sure though it qualifies as boba 🤔)
A cup of mango, pomelo, sago, and taro bubble tea sits on a metal table, featuring a logo with a panda. The drink appears creamy with visible taro pearls at the bottom. In the background, there are blue chairs and a simple interior setting.
December 16, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Reposted by Francesco Marini
alpennec.com
One tip to speed up your SwiftUI previews 🤩

I wanted to centralize constants like opacity, spacing, or sizes used by my View to speed up prototyping.

Stored properties: slow 🐌 as Xcode recompiles the file every time I tweak a value.

Computed properties: instant updates 🏎️
December 16, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Reposted by Francesco Marini
sdforg.bsky.social
Artist and former Thinking Machines Product Designer Tamiko Thiel visited icm.museum to see the new Large Systems gallery which features the Connection Machine. Tamiko demonstrates the CM-2's "friend height" a suggestion that Danny Hillis wanted to realize.

#supercomputing #hpc #vintagecomputing
Tamiko demonstrates friend height Looking inside the CM Assembling the first Connection Machines in the mid 1980s
December 15, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Reposted by Francesco Marini
dantootill.bsky.social
First review of the Commodore 64 Ultimate is in.
Commodore 64 Ultimate Review: 21st Century Computing from a 1982 perspective
I hope I look this good in 30 years time.
www.tomshardware.com
December 15, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Reposted by Francesco Marini
commodoreofficial.bsky.social
Huge thank you to @gamesradarplus.bsky.social for doing such a beautiful in-depth review about the Commodore 64 Ultimate!

www.gamesradar.com/hardware/ret...
The Commodore 64 Ultimate is the C64 remake enthusiasts deserve, and I’m bracing for a huge microcomputer revival
Commodore 64 Ultimate review
www.gamesradar.com
December 15, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Reposted by Francesco Marini
hacksterio.bsky.social
Does the Commodore 64 Ultimate mark the triumphant return of Jack Tramiel's "computers for the masses" or a nostalgia grab? Find out in Hackster Pro Partner Gareth Halfacree's hands-on review!
Keeping Up With the Commodore: A Hands-On Review of the Commodore 64 Ultimate
Does the Commodore 64 Ultimate mark the triumphant return of Jack Tramiel's "computers for the masses" or a nostalgia-grab? Let's find out.
www.hackster.io
December 15, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Reposted by Francesco Marini
commodoreofficial.bsky.social
"If you're a Commodore fan, the Commodore 64 Ultimate will deliver. If this is what the reborn Commodore has to offer as its first commercial product, I can't wait to see what's next"

Check out glowing review from our friends at Hackster!!

www.hackster.io/news/keeping...
Keeping Up With the Commodore: A Hands-On Review of the Commodore 64 Ultimate
Does the Commodore 64 Ultimate mark the triumphant return of Jack Tramiel's "computers for the masses" or a nostalgia-grab? Let's find out.
www.hackster.io
December 15, 2025 at 9:08 PM
lightskies.net
Getting closer and closer to a Kessler event.

The irony of Space Karen ultimately being the one responsible isn’t lost on me, though I would greatly prefer the KE not to happen, all Starlink satellites to be destroyed, and the sky to go back to professional and amateur astronomers.
planet4589.bsky.social Jonathan McDowell @planet4589.bsky.social · Dec 15
The number of active satellites in orbit has now passed the 14000 mark according to my estimates:
December 15, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Reposted by Francesco Marini
omgisme.bsky.social
December 15, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Reposted by Francesco Marini
mackuba.eu
Don't do that… don't give me hope… 🥺

daringfireball.net/2025/12/bad_...
Dye’s replacement at Apple is longtime Apple designer Stephen Lemay. I’ve never met Lemay (or at least can’t recall meeting him), and prior to today never heard much about him. But that’s typical for Apple employees. Part of the job working for Apple is remaining under the radar and out of the public eye. What I’ve learned today is that Lemay, very much unlike Dye, is a career interface/interaction designer. Sources I’ve spoken to who’ve worked with Lemay at Apple speak highly of him, particularly his attention to detail and craftsmanship. Those things have been sorely lacking in the Dye era. Not everyone loves everything Lemay has worked on, but nobody bats 1.000 and designers love to critique each other’s work. I’ve chatted with people with criticisms of specific things Lemay has worked on or led at Apple (e.g. aspects of iPadOS multitasking that struck many of us as deliberately limiting, rather than empowering), but everyone I’ve spoken to is happy — if not downright giddy — at the news that Lemay is replacing Dye. Lemay is well-liked personally and deeply respected talent-wise. Said one source, in a position to know the choices, “I don’t think there was a better choice than Lemay.” The sentiment within the ranks at Apple is that today’s news is almost too good to be true. People had given up hope that Dye would ever get squeezed out, and no one expected that he’d just up and leave on his own. (If you care about design, there’s nowhere to go but down after leaving Apple. What people overlooked is the obvious: Alan Dye doesn’t actually care about design.)
December 4, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Reposted by Francesco Marini
juanbuis.bsky.social
to commemorate alan dye moving from apple to meta, here's one of his best quotes
December 4, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Reposted by Francesco Marini
iammannyj.bsky.social
A vector graphics workstation from the 70s

justanotherelectronicsblog.com?p=1429

#RetroComputing
A vector graphics workstation from the 70s - jaeblog
A bit of history and a repair of a Tektronix 4051 graphical computer from 1975. What was this computer's place in history, what was it used for and what parts exploded when turning it on.
justanotherelectronicsblog.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Reposted by Francesco Marini
commodoreofficial.bsky.social
We're Shipping! The Commodore 64 Beige and Ultimate editions are getting ready to go!! #Commodore64U

For more updates make sure to head to commodore.net
December 3, 2025 at 7:23 PM
lightskies.net
First game I got for the C64. Spent hours trying to pass through Mirkwood and being invariably killed by the spiders, until I found the double wait trick (can remember where, probably on a magazine). Loved that game.
aussiemadegames.bsky.social Aussie Made Games @aussiemadegames.bsky.social · Dec 3
'The Hobbit' (1982)
By: Beam Software (VIC)
For: C64, ZX Spectrum
As Bilbo, you will find yourself on a wonderful, frightening, magical journey. You, Gandalf the Wizard, and Thorin the dwarf are off to slay the evil dragon and return the treasure he is hoarding.
The Hobbit The Hobbit The Hobbit The Hobbit
December 4, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Reposted by Francesco Marini
antranaut.com
Reconnect Recommends:

GTW Highlight No.03: Unseen IK+ design docs revealed (Commodore 64)

#gaming #videogames
GTW Highlight No.03: Unseen IK+ design docs revealed (Commodore 64)
This article has been curated by Reconnect, the games writing discovery platform.
www.gamesthatwerent.com
December 4, 2025 at 7:45 AM
Reposted by Francesco Marini
lightskies.net
Video games legends @jmechner.bsky.social & @johnromero.bsky.social talking about old games preservation to support the Internet Archive. Go watch it. Now 😁

www.timeextension.com/news/2024/09...
Industry Legends Jordan Mechner & John Romero Get Together To Discuss Game Preservation
In a new hour-long video from the independent media outlet Minnmax
www.timeextension.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:33 PM
lightskies.net
Video games legends @jmechner.bsky.social & @johnromero.bsky.social talking about old games preservation to support the Internet Archive. Go watch it. Now 😁

www.timeextension.com/news/2024/09...
Industry Legends Jordan Mechner & John Romero Get Together To Discuss Game Preservation
In a new hour-long video from the independent media outlet Minnmax
www.timeextension.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Reposted by Francesco Marini
davidho.bsky.social
I've been thinking for a while that fighting the fossil fuel propaganda war is the most important climate fight to be having. The other side is well funded (and hence well armed) and we need to be as well.
Many Fighting Climate Change Worry They Are Losing the Information War
www.nytimes.com
December 1, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by Francesco Marini
katharinehayhoe.com
"Conservative groups, funded by fossil fuel magnates, spend $1B/yr interfering with public understanding of what is happening to our world. Few investments rival the return they've gotten from evangelicals."

An oldie but goodie makes the link between fossil fuels, climate denial, and U.S. religion.
How Fossil Fuel Money Made Climate Change Denial the Word of God
Splinter is your home for news and opinions that challenge power in our political and economic system that's becoming more unhinged each and every day.
www.splinter.com
November 28, 2025 at 12:59 AM